My perspective has changed a lot during this quarantine and in a way that I hadn’t thought of before.
Right now we’re all living a social distancing way of life, and depending on where you live, some of the restrictions are less, some are more. In either case, we are all living a different life than we had a few months ago.
I was thinking about the restrictions that are in place here at the Jersey Shore and suddenly they didn’t seem so awful. In fact, once I put it all into perspective I realized that my freedom hadn’t been taken away, just some of the things in life that are not really necessities, but luxuries.
For instance, most retail stores are closed, the bars and restaurants are “take-out” only, the movie theaters are closed and so are the hair salons. Unless you are an employee of the establishments, are they necessary? No, they are luxuries that we enjoy and perhaps, have taken for granted until now.
The retail stores may be closed but you can still order online. You may not be able to actually sit inside a restaurant or bar and be waited on, but you can get takeout meals and cocktails to enjoy in the privacy of your own home. You can’t go to a movie theater but you can get just about any movie on television through a number of different resources and the hair salons may be closed but some offer curbside pickup of hair coloring or you can order hair products online.
The fact is that the things we aren’t able to do right now are luxuries. We can still go to the pharmacy or food store, to the parks and beaches which are now open, and we can still order a meal that we don’t have to cook. We can still go outside to enjoy our backyards or walks around the neighborhood.
The only thing missing is that we’re not being waited on for some of those things. We’re not being pampered at the salon or getting our dishes cleared after a meal at a restaurant. The list can go on and on but you know what I’m talking about.
We are living in a simpler time, one that existed many, many years ago. We’ve grown accustomed to being taken care of, yet we paid to be taken care of and pampered. We’ve learned to believe that all those things we can’t do right now were necessities, when in fact, they are luxuries. We’ve lost sight of the things we took for granted that we now are anxiously awaiting the return of. And we are now doing many of those things for ourselves.
I’d say that our vision has been much clearer since social distancing began and in a positive way. Many of us are looking at things we’re missing with a new found appreciation and I’m sure we’ll never take the smallest or biggest of things for granted again.
“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” Wayne Dyer
And I believe that with all my heart.
Wishing you love and light,
~Anne Dennish~
two years since I’ve seen him. He brought home his beautiful girl for all of us to meet and she was amazing! We all fell in love with her instantly and I’d like to believe that she felt the same about us.
two youngest are working or going to school and I feel as though they’ve already left the nest. 
And he found that.
I’m grateful for the memory of the feelings of a first date and how it felt the moment I fell in love; for the memory of the excitement of a first kiss; of the feelings to be held in the arms of the one you love for the first time.
that I could fix a boo-boo; for the moments of watching them sleep when they were younger; for the memories of their laughter when they were little and the laughter as they grew older.
I’m grateful for the memories of my loved ones that have passed on; for the love that I still feel for them and for the love they felt for me; and I’m grateful for all the memories of time spent with them and the difference they made in my life.
it felt the day I submitted my manuscripts to the publisher; and for the memories of the moment that I first held my new book in my hands.
Anne Dennish - Writer/Author 